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I found the podcast on task significance extremely interesting. Adam Grant also explained the term invisible task...
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Comment:
I found the podcast on task significance extremely interesting. Adam Grant also explained the term invisible task significance which refers to making a positive impact on others with your work but not seeing the people whose lives you have improved. An example that he provided was medical research scientists who develop vaccines but never meet the patients who use them. Without a direct connection between the two parties, a loss of motivation can occur over time. Grants research implies that there is a correlation between task significance and productivity. When employees from a university call center got to meet only two or three of the students who received scholarships thanks to their work, callers ended up doubling the amount of money raised. Another sample included pool lifeguards who after hearing about real-life rescue stories performed by other lifeguards volunteered to work more hours.The implications of this research can be very useful to organizations, especially ones in the health, safety and education industries. Introducing employees to the people who benefit from their work, finding and sharing stories about the impact of their work, and creating forums where employees can share their own stories are all strategies that companies can use to increase productivity and motivation among their workers.I can see these ideas having a great effect for companies that have high employee turnover rates. If these organizations happen to be in industries with high task significance, the result could be even more dramatic. Employees in such industries already have a desire to help other people. Seeing the positive outcome of their work will only reinstate their values and motivate them to work harder.

Author:
Petya Somleva
(Student)

Date Added:
Mar 11, 2009

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